Food Safety and Food Poisoning Prevention During Thanksgiving

To prevent germs, wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds before, during, and after eating and preparing food. 
It is also important to wash your utensils, cutting boards, and countertops with hot, soapy water. You should also rinse your fruits and vegatables.

Cross-contamination is also dangerous. Seperate raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs from ready-to-eat foods. When in the refrigerator, raw meat, poulty, seafood, and eggs should be seperated from other items. When grocery shopping, they should also be seperated from your other items.

Make sure you are cooking your foods to the right temperature and use a food thermometer to check. 

• 145°F for whole cuts of beef, pork, veal, and lamb (then allow the meat to rest for 3 minutes before carving or eating)
• 160°F for ground meats, such as beef and pork
• 165°F for all poultry, including ground chicken and turkey
• 165°F for leftovers and casseroles
• 145°F for fresh ham (raw)
• 145°F for fin fish or cook until flesh is opaque

Food storage is also very important. Make sure to refridgerate your foods properly. Keep your refridgerator at 40°F or below and be sure to throw away expired foods. Refridgerate perishable foods within 2 hours (1 hour if outdoor temperature is 90°F or higher). Make sure to properly thaw foods.

For more information on food safety, click on the link below.
​https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/keep-food-safe.html